Sudden Cardiac Arrest

August 29, 2017 at 3:59 PM

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)

Cardiac arrest is the loss of the heart's ability to pump blood to the body. The most dramatic occurrence, sudden cardiac arrest, can happen with little or no warning. Victims abruptly become unresponsive and collapse. Abnormal gasping can occur or breathing may stop completely.

In New Zealand the Ambulance service responds to approxiamtely 5 out of hospital sudden cardiac arrests per day that's almost 2000 annually. Learn how you can help today.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

CPR is the immediate treatment for a suspected cardiac arrest. CPR allows a bystander (YOU) to restore limited oxygen to the brain through a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths. However, CPR alone is not enough.

Early Defibrillation

The most effective way to end fibrillation is defibrillation, using a defibrillator and electrode pads applied to the chest. A controlled electrical shock is sent through the heart to stop ventricular fibrillation, allowing the heart's normal electrical activity to return and restore blood flow.

Successful defibrillation is highly dependent on how quickly defibrillation occurs. For each minute in cardiac arrest the chances of survival decrease by about 10 per cent. After as few as 10 minutes survival is unlikely.

Simply ringing 111 is not enough as even in the best EMS systems the amount of time it takes from recognition an SCA has occurred to EMS arriving at the scene is usually longer than 10 minutes.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a small portable computerised device that is simple for anyone (YOU)to operate.

Bystander use of AEDs has been growing steadlily with common placements of the devices in public locations such as airports and hotels and workplaces in general. To find your nearest AED click here

Turning on an AED is as simple as opening a lid or pushing a power button. Once it is on, an AED provides voice instructions to guide you through its attachment and use.